Do you really know?

"Wrap up warm, or you'll catch a cold!" No doubt you heard that advice a lot as a child, and you may well still hear it as an adult. For a long time, scientists were skeptical about the idea that simply being exposed to the cold could make a person sick. After all, to get sick, you need to actually come into contact with a microbe, like a virus. And cold weather itself isn't a disease. But recent...

It doesn’t take a genius to realise that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the relationship many white-collar employees have with work. And that’s particularly true when it comes to remote work; which some of them now see as a non-negotiable. And a lot of other employees have made it clear they don’t want to return to full-time office life. Nevertheless, many CEOs were keen to get their staff back int...

Revenge porn is the intentional sharing of private sexual content, without the consent of the person in that content. It could be explicit text messages, photos or videos, for example. Revenge porn hasn’t been around forever; it has grown with, and been facilitated by, the internet, smartphones and social media.  The humiliation and harassment that comes with it can cause severe emotional distress...

Cooking is a passion and hobby for a lot of people. They scour Pinterest for hours to pick the best recipe, dice their ingredients finely, let the food cook gently and even reuse leftovers in inventive ways. But for others, cooking is a hassle and a bother. Grocery shopping, the cooking itself and cleaning up all seems like a lot of effort. But maybe those people don't appreciate how cooking can a...

When you die, your physical body may be gone, but your digital legacy lives on. Your digital legacy is everything you leave behind online, such as your social media accounts, emails, photos, videos, documents, and more. These may hold financial or sentimental value for you and your loved ones, but they can also pose some challenges and risks.  While most of us make a will stipulating what we want...

How many times have you come across expired pills in your medicine cabinet and wondered  whether they we still safe to use? It’s pretty common, and often we consider using the medicine anyway, because we don’t have a prescription to get more, for example, or simply don’t want to waste what we already have. In early 2022, Censuswide conducted a survey on behalf of online pharmacist Chemist4U. It fo...

More and more people across the world are struggling with burnout. According to a Future Forum survey of over 10,000 workers from February 2023, as many as 42% of workers experience it, an all-time high. When signs of exhaustion emerge, the ideal solution is, of course, total rest, but it's often a luxury that few can afford. An alternative for preventing burnout is what's known as the "42% rule."...

People often refer to themselves as cat person or dog person, as well as  meaning that they prefer this animal to the other, it implies that they identify with certain characteristics associated with their preferred pet, dogs are loyal, cats are smart, dogs can be trained to help people, cats cannot and so on.  The social psychologist Samuel D Gosling of the University of Texas studied the persona...

According to a 2019 report from eharmony, a third of relationships had started online between 2015 and 2019, compared to just 19% in the preceding decade. The so-called “Future of Dating” also suggested that by the year, more than half of relationships will have begun online. Whether you're seeking a serious relationship or just a casual fling, there's something out there for everyone. As with any...

You've probably noticed that as soon as the back-to-school season ends, stores start filling their shelves with chocolates, garlands, and Advent calendars. For many of us, it feels like an early jump into the holiday spirit, even before we've figured out our Christmas plans. But beyond the sometimes overly eager marketing by big retailers, there might be some wisdom in getting a head start on your...

Climatologists and medical experts are in agreement about the detrimental impact of excessive meat consumption on both our environment and health. Industrial livestock farming is responsible for a significant 15% of global CO2 emissions, and it also raises ethical concerns regarding animal welfare. In light of these concerns, it recently emerged that UK meat consumption is at its lowest level sinc...

We talked about omplaphobia in a recent episode of Do You Really Know, which is the fear of belly buttons. Well the subject of today’s episode may make for awkward listening for anyone affected by that phobia. That’s right; we’re talking about belly buttons again. Now, be honest: when was the last time you washed your belly button in the shower? It’s commonly overlooked, but surprisingly it’s actu...

You might think that ageing is all about decline and deterioration, but that’s not the whole story. In fact, there are many aspects of life that improve as we grow older, such as happiness, wisdom, relationships, and even some cognitive skills. “Our societal narrative is not based on science – it’s based entirely on prejudice. Contrary to popular myth, we never stop learning or growing new brain c...

Have you ever had the eerie feeling that you’re being spied on by your smartphone? You know: you're having dinner with a friend, chatting about how your aging computer is on its last legs, struggling with an old battery and making work a hassle. You’ve decided it’s time to replace it by getting a new one. Lo and behold, the next day, while casually surfing the internet, you're bombarded with ads f...

Almost all kids are afraid of the dark, and sometimes that fear even lingers into adulthood. It's a shame really because, contrary to what you might think, darkness is actually not our enemy but a friend when it comes to drifting off to dreamland. Being exposed to light at night can have negative consequences on person’s health in the long-term. That’s according to a study by researchers at Northw...

Whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, you can’t deny that there’s something intriguing about the paranormal. And the UK has plenty of spooky spots to choose from, with a long and bloody history of wars, executions, murders and mysteries. So grab your flashlight and your courage, and join me as we discover some of the most haunted places in the UK. Let’s start with one of the most famous haunted...

Chromophobia is a term with Greek origins, referring to the fear of colours. Initially, it was a concept used in biology to describe cells unresponsive to colour, commonly employed in medical examinations. Over time, its use expanded into psychology, particularly in the context of the rejection and fear associated with specific colours. A pathological aversion to colours, or a particular colour, i...

Whether you’re watching a horror film, or exposed to a sudden loud noise, all of us have jumped at some point when scared. The body’s response to getting startled is all too familiar: tense muscles, a racing heartbeat and a twitching neck, among others. But there’s still a lot of mystery behind the phenomenon.  Jolting is actually a natural and adaptive defensive response that helps our bodies avo...

Be honest, if you hadn’t heard the title of this episode, would you have been able to guess that this person was talking about a belly button? She was a contestant on Family Feud Australia in 2017, and just hearing mention of the words “belly button” were enough to trigger her. It might sound like an extreme reaction to a belly button, but she’s actually far from being the only person to have what...

The chances are that at some point you’ve scoured the internet in an attempt to figure out why you’re feeling sick. Maybe you go to Dr Google as a matter of habit any time you’re in discomfort or pain. Indeed, back in 2019, Google Heatlh Vice President David Feinberg told the Telegraph that 7% of all Google searches related to health, adding up to an incredible 70,000 every minute. But there are d...

Daylight saving time (DST) It’s the practice of advancing your clocks by one hour during the spring and summer months, and then turning them back in the autumn and winter. The idea is to make better use of natural daylight and save energy. But some people question if it really works and if there are any advantages to us at all.   Daylight saving time was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784...

Job interviews have always been a daunting prospect for a number of reasons. And the process is only getting more time-consuming for candidates, without offering increased chances of success. According to a June 2023 report from the Josh Bersin Company and AMS, the average recruitment process now take a whopping 44 days. As if all this isn’t demanding enough, interviewers like to throw in the occa...

The Walt Disney Company is celebrating its centenary this October, but the prevailing mood is far from festive. That’s because Disney's image is taking a hit. In May 2023, Axios-Harris placed it 77th for reputation in a ranking of America’s 100 most visible companies. When you consider that it had figured 4th on that same list as recently as 2019, the impact is clear. On that front, it's not doing...

You’ve probably seen the ads for products and services that promise to make you happier, healthier, and more fulfilled. Things like journals, air purifiers, crystal jewellery, and of course, bubble baths. These are all examples of what some experts call ‘faux self-care’: the idea that we can buy our way out of stress, burnout, and depression. It’s also based on the idea that we are responsible for...

Knowing the difference between right and left is crucial for various daily activities like driving and navigation. While most of us take this skill for granted, a significant portion of the population faces challenges with it. A study published in 2020 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology estimated that one in six adults struggles to distinguish their right from their left. Of course, if you...